Thanks to the booming bourbon tourism industry in Kentucky, the state's Midway University now offers a minor in Bourbon Studies as part of their undergraduate program, according to NBC News.

The program itself focuses on the hospitality aspect of the bourbon industry, which is seeing tourism in record numbers — the number of tourists and guests at the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, for example, has tripled within the past decade, and the Kentucky Distiller's Association claims that the economic impact of bourbon on the area where it's made is a whopping $8.5 billion. Though many who go into the bourbon industry will learn how it's made and produced, this coursework teaches students how to run the tourism side of the industry, which includes running events, providing hospitality, leading tastings, working as representatives, and more.

The online minor, which is orchestrated through conference calls and offsite tastings, has only seen a few graduates so far, but certainly, more and more bourbon lovers who want to work within Kentucky's signature industry will begin to enroll, creating a new workforce within the state that can properly show off its most important product.

Photo via The Drink Nation